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After several decades of annoying neighbors, Cleveland Circle bar gets at least a couple weeks to figure out how to make things right

Mary Ann's in Cleveland Circle

A contentious Boston Licensing Board hearing on the future of Mary Ann's on Beacon Street ended with the board chairwoman agreeing to give the bar some time to develop a plan to address longstanding neighborhood concerns about everything from the bar's lack of windows to the young inebriates residents say pour out of the place at 2 a.m. and run roughshod over their lawns, yards and front steps.

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One thing the board won't do, however, is roll back the bar's hours, at least not based on a series of incidents in recent months involving underaged patrons guzzling Naragansetts. Board Chairwoman Christine Pulgini agreed with Mary Ann's attorney, Louis Cassis, that the bar has already been punished fot the specific incidents - most recently eight days of suspension for two January incidents.

And Pulgini seemed to agree with Cassis that because the legal notice referred specifically to the bar's 2 a.m. closing time, she would discount testimony from residents, Boston Police and Boston College about what a horrible place Mary Ann's has been in general for as long as anybody can remember. She said she liked a proposal by Cassis to talk to the bar's owner - ill and not at the meeting - about coming up with some sort of mitigation plan.

Meanwhile, other Brighton bars shouldn't rest easy. Pulgini said that in coming months the board wants to look at issues at other nearby bars as well.

Residents among the roughly 35 people at the hearing at the Waterworks Museum were skeptical of anything good coming from Mary Ann's, because the city has been holding hearings on the place for almost as long as they've been complaining about it.

"It is A PIT!" a place that invites kids to do the sorts of things they would never dream of doing in front of their parents "or anybody else," John Freeman said.

Eva Webster said she found her feet sticking to the floor the one time she went in. She said "the stench was overwhelming" and that Mary Ann's is "the worst dive in Boston," a dank cave where BC students get their drunk on before they burst out at closing time to urinate and defecate in people's yards. Michael DeMarco, who lives on Orkney Road, said he's tired of the lawn urination and fights among BC kids coming out of the bar.

Mary Cronin, who also lives near the bar, said she doesn't object to the idea of a bar at that location, just the way Mary Ann's operates.

Thomas Keady, vice president of governmental affairs at Boston College, said he is as tired as residents of the problems caused by the bar and that the college stands with residents in seeking to roll back the bar's hours.

"They have violated the respect of the community, of the collage and of the neighborhood," he said. He said that when he and other BC officials meet on Monday morniungs to go over police reports from the weekend, Mary Ann's always generates more reports than any other bar in Brighton.

"It's our biggest problem bar where our students are involved," Bill Mills, BC's director of community affairs said, noting he was a frequent visitor to the bar in the years when he used to ride around Brighton with BPD offices on patrol on weekend nights.

Cassis and the bar manager and head bouncer, however, said the purchase of a new license scanner a month ago has dramatically increased the number of people being caught with fake out-of-state IDs - so much so the bar is once again letting people use non-Massachusetts driver's licenses as IDs.

The bouncer denied contentions by BC officials and police that kids - especially of the female variety - often get in without being carded. He said he cards everybody, period.

And the bar last fall moved to end one flashpoint by barring all BC football players, whom, bar managers said, seemed to like getting into fights.

Mills, however, said BC several years ago banned its athletes from the bar during their seasons because of problems there. Cassis retorted that hasn't stopped football players from walking over to the bar.

Part of Cassis's overall defense was that while Mary Ann's may be a pit, it's no worse a pit than other Brighton bars, and that any closing-time issues it might have are no worse than those in the clusters of bars around Faneuil Hall and in the Theater District. He said the two bars closest to Mary Anne's - which he declined to name - have actually racked up more police citations than his client.

Although Cassis questioned a BPD detective, a captain, a sergeant on their assertions that Mary Ann's causes more problems than other Brighton bars, he did not question any of the residents.

He told the board that while residents have a right to complain, he has no way to tell whether they're just making up all the stuff they claimed, legally, because he was not told such complaints would come up at the hearing and because police did not submit reports to back up their allegations. Referring to Webster's complaint about the stench, he said that had he known that would have been an issue, he could have found somebody to testify the place smelled just fine.

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Comments

What neighbors? That place is perfectly situated for a dive bar. But jokes aside, just wait until somebody dies after leaving that place and watch the shtf.....oh wait...

Mary Anne's is like a cat with nine lives. Somebody up there (or at city hall) is watching over it.

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BPD Sgt. Det. Robert Mulvey brought Franco Garcia up as an example of the problems BPD has had with the bar over the years (he'd been drinking at Mary Anne's), but Pulgini agreed with an objection by Cassis that that was irrelevant to the current discussion.

Later, Cassis brought up the returning Afghanistan war veteran who was murdered at closing time in the Theater District - as an example of how the board should be setting closing-time standards across the city, not just for one bar.

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I grew up in Brookline and had it in my head that the murder of an Iranian student in 1979 was connected to Mary Ann's, but the accused were teenagers and not connected to the bar... even with the lower drinking age standards / enforcement at the time.

Still, what a different place...

http://bostonlocaltv.org/catalog/2394_04167

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"The devil takes care of his own". Or her own.

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Merry Anns is the place to be, Beacon St is just party party central i love the old brick buildings near Beacon and Strathmore everyones out and partying and you can smell the reefer everywhere its awesome. It's kind of funny you can see the various couples going at it from the shadows on the curtains, can just imagine what it was like back in the day in those old brick buildings> Cleveland Circle to me is sex city. I have heard of sex parties going on their for days on end.

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yeah back in the day 1869 beacon st apt 2 was the spot more than mary anns>>> beer came from mary anns for free>> food came from kens@copley we had plenty of girls from bc.bu suffolk law and the parties went on and on for whole weeks at a clip when you came out of the joy house at 1869 you be anilated and ready to boot all over again that building is cursed beyond cursed it belongs in national historical register

ac dc rock or bust

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THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE CITY HALL WILL NEVER FORGET 1869 BEACON STREET APT 2 SMEGMA AND THE NUNS THE BOOM TOWN RATS KENS AT COPLEY THE SMELL OF REEFER ALL THE WAY TO STAR MARKET AND TO SCARY ANNS THE RATH SKELLAR THE TAM O SHANTER

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Yes it's a pit and full of mostly college kids getting drunk who probably act like young drunk twits on their way out of there. On the other hand I can't help but feel that this place has become the scapegoat for people who live anywhere near the circle. I would've asked the person complaining about drunk kids urinating on his lawn how he was sure that the kid(s) came from Mary Ann's and not some keg party at an apartment.

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If it's Sunday-Thursday night and someone is in your yard peeing at 2:07am, I don't think we need the cops to determine that they likely came from Mary Ann's.

(Adam: Bunch of typos in this story: "Mary Anne's" and some destruction of the word "morning.")

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I don't know about you but day of the week and access to a bar didn't stop me from drinking until I pissed in someones yard when I was about that age.

If there was booze and a party, I was there regardless of what day of the week or where it was.

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There are very few keg parties mid-week. Yes it could be that a Tuesday pisser is coming from a Cinco de Mayo party, but generally kegs are reserved for Friday and Saturday nights (and Superbowl Sunday and Marathon Monday.)

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Strathmore road and the apartments in the 1800 block of Beacon St are the problem children of the area partying drinking reefer, all night all week keg parties.

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SMEGMA AND THE NUNS FOR EVER LIVE AT MARY ANNS TONIGHT SMEGMA AND THE NUNS TICKETS ARE $ 25 BUCKS AT THE DOOR WET T SHIRT CONTEST PROVIDED BY U MASS AMHERST LADIES ROTARY CLUB AND HOBART ST BLARNEY BLOW OUT PRODUCTIONS

2ND SHOW HOLD OVER TUESDAY NIGHT SMEGMA AND THE NUNS WITH GUEST S
THE BOOM TOWN RATS AND THE DIXX SINGING THEIR HIT TITLED NAKED EYE

SMEGMA AND THE NUNNS FOR EVER AT MARY ANNS THEIR IS NO OTHER BAND THAT WILL FREEK YOU OUT NO DOUBT

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to puke free sidewalks.

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Cleveland Circle is one of the best neighborhoods in the area for playing Parochial Bingo.

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i wanna dedicate a song called i use to love her to all Catholic BC girls at Mary Anns who broke my male ego and my male heart and never called me back. Well guess what sugar britches im over at Irish Village and the girls their adore me! Mary Anns a great place to get a broken heart but no more for this kid im going places soon as a finish school im going to be top dawg the alpha male god made me out to be. Your not goingto hit on me or to abuse me and spank me any more! Thanks ""butt"" no thanx

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SMEGMA AND THE NUNS LIVE AT 1869 BEACON ST APARTMENT 2 WITH BACK UP BAND SAVOY BROWN BALL ROOM MARS T REX SECOND FRONT LINERS

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When I lived in Brighton we used to call Mary Anne's the bar of bad decisions. The first: going in there to begin with.

But for all seriousness, the complaints are contrived, if not fabricated, because the bar is easily the biggest blight in the circle and any neighborhood redevelopment efforts are in vain whilst it persists to exist. Regardless of whether or not they meet all the mitigations imposed on them, this fight will not end until Mary Anne's is no more.

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the bar's lack of windows

Really now, windows?!? And neighborhood associations wonder why they're not taken more seriously.

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okay the windows got it good call!! Boardem up with plywood if ya dont likem okay!! lets hold off on the windows becuz @ Cleveland Circle thiers lot of peepers around Cleveland Circle and quite frankly im not to enthusiastic or welcoming to or bout some weirdo in a bugs bunny out-fit 1 or 2am or 3 am peekin er peepin in my window asking me 4 bar of Irish Spring and Dude wipe okay!! YES IT DID HAPPEN TO ME OKAY Not happy with that kind of behavior at Cleveland Circle. I live here and i am not happy with anything here okay! Lines every where people upset that Reservior Liquors ran out of Heineken Kegs and 2 wheelers. Trash collection at the Circle stinx and parking is always a problem and theirs really no grocery store at the circle okay!! TO ME LIVING AT CLEVELAND CIRCLE IS LIKE PLAYING TRICK OR TREAT 24/7 EVERY SINGLE DAY. A BAD HOLLYWOOD HORROR MOVIE THAT NEVER ENDS LIKE LOVE GURU I FEEL SORRY FOR MARY ANNS BECAUSE THEY GET BLAMED FOR EVERY DAMN THING THAT HAPPENS IN THE CIRCLE and its not FAIR!!. QUITE FRANKLY I THINK IT STINKS NOW THEIR TALKIN ABOUT A BRIGHTON BOSTON TAX ON LAWN CHAIR ORDNENCE AT THE CIRCLE OKAY!! TO MANY STRANGE PEOPLE I CANT RELATE TO here at the Circle okay! MISS JACKIE GLEASON AND THE HONEY MOONERS SINCERELY JOHN Q PUBLIC OLDER RESIDENT!!!! PS I CAN LIVE WITH HUMAN PISS AND TURD IN THE STREET ITS THE DOG OWNERS LAMBSTERS I WANT BOUNCED FROM THE CIRCLE

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I literally live 45 seconds from Mary Ann's. I don't know who these home-owners complaining of kids literally shitting on their lawns are, but apparently the ongoing decay doesn't register. It's a derelict neighborhood and adding a craft beer cellar isn't going to do anything...

"things they wouldn't dream of doing in front of their parents" ... its a dive bar that smells like a urinal not a torture chamber. BC parents are just (WAY WAY) richer versions of the stuffy complainers down the road. They want an outlet.

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I've lived 45 seconds from Mary Ann's for years, and I don't know what definition you have for derelict, but in no way is the circle derelict.

Mary Ann's is a dive, and I'm too old to enjoy it, but these busybodies need a new target. I'm more bothered by the dog owners who don't clean up after their dogs than I am by the drunk kids.

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by any stretch (can see if someone comes from a really white bread suburban town how they might think anything that looks 'urban' = derelict)....but the rest of your post is spot on.

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1869 Beacon St 1972 Mary Anns is BC Holy Grail of drinking best wear a BC T shirt, BC hat or sweat shirt before entering!!!!! Mary Ann last of the Dive Bars old spice cheep perfume Old Milwaukee Narascranset PBR Pinos Pizza Sunshine Laundramat to clean your vomited Scary Ann clothes City Side use to be called Chips. Mary Anns>> Catholic Girls Gone Wild!!! Savoy Brown Hell Bound Train. Use to get people to buy my booze @ Reservior Liquors and Mary Anns when i was at Brookline High School back in 72 Best part of Bar Tending and Door man at Mary Anns is after hour drinking till 0400 and of course being a prep Cook at Kens 3rd Floor free food >>>Motels Only The Lonely. The Cars!!

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